2 Samuel 23:18

23:18 Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was head of the three. ¹  He killed three hundred men with his spear and gained fame among the three. ² 

2 Samuel 23:1

David’s Final Words

23:1 These are the final words of David:

“The oracle of David son of Jesse,

the oracle of the man raised up as

the ruler chosen by the God of Jacob, ³ 

Israel’s beloved ⁴  singer of songs:

[23:18]  ¹ tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, and Vulgate in reading הַשְּׁלֹשָׁה (hashÿlosa, “the three”) rather than the Kethib of the MT הַשָּׁלִשִׁי (hashalisi, “the third,” or “adjutant”). Two medieval Hebrew mss and the Syriac Peshitta have “thirty.”

[23:18]  ² tn Heb “and he was wielding his spear against three hundred, [who were] slain, and to him there was a name among the three.”

[23:1]  ³ tn Heb “the anointed one of the God of Jacob.”

[23:1]  ⁴ tn Or “pleasant.”